By Scott Box
You are the test audience, dear reader, and I need your help—Please provide feedback.
Below are “7 Questions” that can help you tell a gritty story (about mental health) that tells a heroic story about Jesus—aJesusStory. aJesusStory is the outcome of living a lifestyle as a heroic worshiper of Jesus. Rather than providing tasks or directives, these questions are designed to speak to your hopes and dreams and awaken a longing within you to identify, shape and release your gritty story to others—to experience your story’s extraordinary power for your health and the health of others.
1. What crisis or mess in my life is forcing me to ask, “Who is in control?”
Purpose: This question draws my attention to my crises and moments of desperation where God’s redemptive work begins. It roots my story in reality, acknowledging my pain and anxiety.
2. Does Jesus see Himself in the W.A.R.S. of my life—my words, actions, relationships and situations?
Purpose: This question bridges the cosmic and the mundane. It asks me to examine my daily life and whether my worship reflects Christ in all areas.
3. How do I hope when crisis surrounds me, and what do I expect God to do when He has to come through?
Purpose: This invites me to reflect on the hope and expectation that drives my faith even in hard times.
4. What are the things I control that push back chaos and bring order to life?
Purpose: This question reminds me of my agency in reflecting Jesus by bringing order to my life and community through discipline and obedience.
5. Do I allow God to “make healthy what He doesn’t heal?”
Purpose: This question focuses on how God’s power and story are at work, even in my unresolved pain.
6. Whose life will be influenced if they know my story, and who will suffer if I keep silent?
Purpose: This question makes me feel urgent about sharing my story. It reminds me that my testimony has the power to change my life and the lives of others.
7- Does my life awaken a longing in others for Jesus, and how does my story fit into Jesus’ heroic story?
Purpose: This question ties everything together, prompting me to see my life as part of God’s cosmic heroic narrative and inspiring me to declare my story.
I have designed this flow of questions to blend Jesus’ heroic narrative with practical life. The questions move me from self-reflection into outward action. The “7 Questions” framework reminds me that my life can be filled with heroic acts of worship that culminate in the powerful declaration of what I call, aJesusStory. “Telling my gritty story to tell a heroic story about Jesus” gives meaning to my pain and helps me lock down God’s purpose for my life.
I hope the “7 Questions” tool excites you and causes you to consider the power your story has to help you as much as it has to help others. Even your most graphic crisis can transform your worship of Jesus Christ, the Great Hero, into a form of worship that tells a heroic story about Jesus. Desperation for Jesus drove me into hopeful dependence on Jesus. I’ll share more about how desperation intersects with heroic worship next month.
In the meantime, please review these questions and let me know your thoughts in the comments. Also, to guide your thinking about the “7 Questions” even more, consider asking yourself the following:
- What question is the most difficult for you to answer honestly?
- What question do you want to ask a friend or family member?
- What question will you ask yourself every day for the next week/month?
“Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!”—John 4:39-42 MSG
Scott and Kariann Box live in Redmond, Oregon. Scott serves as Pastor of Development at Shiloh Ranch Church and has been a worship leader for over twenty-five years. Kariann works as a Realtor in Central Oregon and supports Scott’s…creative spirit. They have two children, a one-hundred-pound Labradoodle and a four-pound Shih Tzu without teeth. Scott is the author of HEROIC DISGRACE: Order out of chaos. Hope out of fear. ― A Worship Hero Story
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